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Tennessee forward John Fulkerson (10) celebrates on the bench as Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander (11) watches in amusement during Tennessee's basketball game against Lenoir-Rhyne at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Tennessee guard Admiral Schofield (5) drives down the court during Tennessee's basketball game against Lenoir-Rhyne at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Tennessee guard Jordan Bone (0) drives down the court during Tennessee's basketball game against Lenoir-Rhyne at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Bone and center Kyle Alexander were excellent for Tennessee, scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively. Bone dominated in transition and controlled the game throughout, while Alexander was a focal point of the offense in the first half.

All five starters reached double figures for Tennessee, which blitzed Lenoir-Rhyne in the second half and held the Bears scoreless for the first 8:46 after halftime.

Tennessee scored the first 19 second-half points, turning a 20-point lead into a 39-point margin. Bone got the scoring rolling with a floater. Bowden hit a pair of free throws. Bone found Alexander for a dunk.

"He had a command about him," Barnes said of Bone. "I thought he did. He had a command about him."

Admiral Schofield, who had 13 points, made a turnaround jumper. Grant Williams went up and under in the post. Schofield made a 3-pointer before John Fulkerson, Yves Pons and Williams scored three straight buckets in the post.

Lenoir-Rhyne finally scored in the second half at the 11:14 mark when Bertrand Awana made a layup, ending a phenomenal defensive stretch for the Vols.

Williams finished with 13 points and Bowden had 11 for Tennessee.

The start wasn’t ideal for Tennessee, despite early scores from Williams and impressive play from Pons. The Bears scored 3-pointers in bunches in the first 10 minutes, cutting the Tennessee lead to 20-18 and prompting Barnes to call timeout.

The UT coach wasn’t pleased with Tennessee’s offensive shot selection, opting for 3-pointers instead of getting the ball inside. He also didn’t like the way the Vols were leaving their feet to contest 3-pointers against players they didn’t need to “run off the line.”

“As the half wore on, we got better at not running people off the line and staying in front,” Barnes said.

Williams turned Tennessee around with a steal on an inbound pass, tossing it to Bone for an easy hoop. Then Bone deflected an inbound pass, which sent Williams diving to the floor to secure it and call timeout.

The reigning SEC player of the year got in the post and scored before Schofield forced a steal on the next Lenoir-Rhyne possession. The senior forward spun and passed to Bowden, who promptly launched an alley-oop to Alexander.

Lenoir-Rhyne coach Everick Sullivan called a timeout, but the Bears made only one of their next 10 3-pointers after opening 6-of-10 from 3-point range.

Tennessee was in control for the next 30-plus minutes and cruised to its first win in a season filled with expectations.

“People say all the time defense wins championships,” Alexander said. “To get where we really want to go as a team — where we didn’t get to go last year and where we haven’t been since I’ve been here as a Tennessee Volunteer — that needs to be a big focal point.

“That’s a big issue for us and something that we really want to focus on.”

Injuries

Tennessee was without Lamonte Turner and Jalen Johnson due to a shoulder and hamstring issue, respectively, on Tuesday.

Turner had an offseason shoulder procedure, while Johnson was hurt in practice late last week.

“I think they’ll both be ready Friday,” Barnes said. “Jalen tweaked his a little bit in practice last, I think, Friday or Saturday.”

Fulkerson for the win

Fulkerson played 18 minutes — the second-most of anyone off the bench.

He scored six points, making all three of his field-goal attempts. He pulled down five rebounds, had two assists and two steals in a stat-stuffing performance.